5 Reasons Why Chelsea's Victory Against Stoke City Showed They Can Win the EPL

Chelsea achieved a narrow victory over Stoke City this weekend, thanks to a late goal by Ashley Cole.

It was a messy victory, but a victory nonetheless.

In fact, the way Chelsea struggled has caused some to question their title credentials. After all, what we witnessed was a Chelsea team five minutes away from a 0-0 draw at home to inferior opposition.

However, what could also be seen was a Chelsea team that, while not playing their best, could still scrape by with a win.

And that is exactly the kind of team that wins titles.

Here are five reasons why the defeat of Stoke shows that Chelsea can go on to win the Premier League this season:

Chelsea Won with a Clean Sheet

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Another clean sheet against Stoke means that it is four shutouts in five Premier League matches this season. In fact, only two goals have passed Petr Čech and the Chelsea defense in the league so far this season.

Čech cannot take all the credit for this, as Stoke had just three on-target attempts. However, each clean sheet brings more confidence to the defense, and to the goalkeeper himself.

If Čech keeps it up, he will be able to reclaim his title as the world's best shot stopper, as well as adding valuable points to Chelsea's title challenge.

There Is Real Depth in This Squad

Last season, Juan Mata was perhaps Chelsea's only creative player. This season, there is an abundance of such players.

As a result, Mata has yet to make a big impact this season. That is, until today's match against Stoke.

This win showed that not only Mata can still make his mark on the season, but that Chelsea has incredible strength in depth. In the past two matches, we have seen both Mata and Oscar get their seasons underway after successful squad rotations by Roberto Di Matteo.

Such rotation will be vital if Chelsea makes a solid run into the Champions League and FA Cup tournaments.

When Chelsea was struggling to break through the Stoke defense, Di Matteo brought Frank Lampard and Victor Moses off of the bench, both of whom had impacts on the game.

There is not as much depth up front, but with the attacking midfield options available for Di Matteo, this should not matter.

With the depth and skill this squad possesses, combined with a few January additions, Chelsea should be a major title contender come May.